Network switch, device management system, and device management method thereof

ABSTRACT

A network switch, a device management system, and a device management method thereof are provided. A network management system with a graphical management interface is embedded in the network switch, so that network administrators can use web browser for management. The graphical management interface provides a topology mode, a floor mode and a map mode for the network administrators to intuitively manage Internet Protocol (IP) connected apparatuses on a topological diagram, a floor plan or a map. Furthermore, in response to a control operation corresponding to the IP connected apparatus on the graphical management interface, the network switch performs a device function operation (e.g., an information collecting operation, a configuration setting operation, a node searching operation, a system login operation, etc.) corresponding to the control operation through a communication module thereof. Accordingly, an innovative and convenient device management system can be provided for the network administrators.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part application of and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/958,875, filed on Dec. 3,2015, now allowed, which claims priority benefits of U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 62/221,112, filed on Sep. 21, 2015 and Taiwanapplication serial no. 104133845, filed on Oct. 15, 2015. The entiretyof each of the above-mentioned patent applications is herebyincorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a network management method, and moreparticularly, to a network switch, a device management system and adevice management method thereof.

Description of Related Art

With rapid development in information technology, various electronicdevices have been popularized day by day. In order to achieve theobjective of resource sharing, network becomes the standard equipmentfor information exchange, and induces dramatic increases in growth ofcommercial and home IP connected apparatuses (e.g., smart phones, smartcameras, wireless routers, smart televisions, etc.). Among them, anetwork switch has become the key equipment in network informationexchange due to features like rapid information exchange.

On the other hand, with dramatic increases in growth of commercial andhome IP connected apparatuses, in addition to difficulties in acentralized management, it is also hard for the network administratorsto know of problems occurred on the equipments immediately. Further, theconventional network switch may provide a network configuration settingto control the IP connected apparatuses connected thereto. However, theconventional network switch can only provide Command-Line Interface(CLI) and Webpage User Interface (Web UI), so it requires not only theprofessional personnel in the network related art for the setting butalso requires complex operations in order to complete the setting forall the IP connected apparatuses in the environment. Aside from thenetwork configuration setting, the conventional CLI and Web UI can alsocause a lot of problems for the general public or even the networkadministrators in terms of performance management and troubleshootingissues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a network switch, a device managementsystem and a device management method thereof, which let a graphicalnetwork management system (NMS) and a device management system (DMS) beembedded in the network switch, so as to allow the networkadministrators or even the general public to operate IP connectedapparatuses more conveniently.

The invention provides a network switch, which includes a communicationmodule, a storage unit and a processing unit. The communication moduleis configured to transmit and receive signals. The storage unit isconfigured to store a plurality of modules. The processing unit iscoupled to the communication module and the storage unit to access andexecute the modules recorded in the storage unit. The modules include adevice management module and a management interface module. The devicemanagement module performs a device management operation through thecommunication module. The management interface module provides agraphical management interface. In response to a control operation onthe graphical management interface, the device management moduleperforms the device function operation corresponding to the controloperation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device management modulegenerates a control signal corresponding to the control operation basedon a network protocol, and transmits the control signal through acorresponding connection port in the communication module to perform thedevice function operation. The control operation is corresponding to anIP connected apparatus or another network switch.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes one of an information collecting operation and a configurationsetting operation or a combination thereof. The device management moduleperforms the information collecting operation or the configurationsetting operation on the IP connected apparatus through thecommunication module to obtain related information of the IP connectedapparatus or set the IP connected apparatus corresponding to the controloperation. Further, the management interface module presents the relatedinformation of the IP connected apparatus through the graphicalmanagement interface.

In an embodiment of the invention, the graphical management interfaceprovides one of a topology mode, a floor mode and a map mode or acombination thereof. In response to the control operation, themanagement interface module presents the related information of the IPconnected apparatus through one of said modes.

In an embodiment of the invention, the related information of the IPconnected apparatus includes network address information. The devicemanagement module executes a script program based on the network addressinformation, and performs the information collecting operation or theconfiguration setting operation through the script program.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes a node searching operation. The device management moduleperforms the node searching operation based on the IP connectedapparatus corresponding to the control operation to generate the controlsignal including a warning control instruction. The warning controlinstruction is configured to control the IP connected apparatus toperform a warning behavior.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes a system login operation. The device management module performsthe system login operation to log in the IP connected apparatus throughthe communication module and performs a proxy operation on a managementsystem of the IP connected apparatus.

In an embodiment of the invention, the modules further include a fileaccess module. The file access module is configured to allow the IPconnected apparatus to access files in the storage unit through thecommunication module.

The invention also provides a device management method, which is adaptedto a network switch having a communication module. The network switch isdirectly or indirectly coupled to an IP connected apparatus. The devicemanagement method includes the following steps. A graphical managementinterface is provided. In response to a control operation on thegraphical management interface, the device function operationcorresponding to the control operation is performed through thecommunication module. The control operation is corresponding to the IPconnected apparatus or another network switch.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of performing the devicefunction operation corresponding to the control operation through thecommunication module includes the following steps. A control signalcorresponding to the control operation is generated based on a networkprotocol, and the control signal is transmitted through a correspondingconnection port in the communication module to perform the devicefunction operation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes one of an information collecting operation and a configurationsetting operation or a combination thereof, and the step of performingthe device function operation corresponding to the control operationthrough the communication module includes the following steps. Theinformation collecting operation or the configuration setting operationis performed on the IP connected apparatus through the communicationmodule to obtain related information of the IP connected apparatus orset the IP connected apparatus corresponding to the control operation.The related information of the IP connected apparatus is present throughthe graphical management interface.

In an embodiment of the invention, the graphical management interfaceprovides one of a topology mode, a floor mode and a map mode or acombination thereof, and the step of performing the device functionoperation corresponding to the control operation through thecommunication module includes the following steps. In response to thecontrol operation, the related information of the IP connected apparatusis presented through one of said modes.

In an embodiment of the invention, the related information of the IPconnected apparatus includes network address information, and the stepof performing the device function operation corresponding to the controloperation through the communication module includes the following steps.A script program is executed based on the network address information.The information collecting operation or the configuration settingoperation is performed through the script program.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes a node searching operation, and the step of performing thedevice function operation corresponding to the control operation throughthe communication module includes the following steps. The nodesearching operation is performed based on the IP connected apparatuscorresponding to the control operation to generate the control signalincluding a warning control instruction. In response to the warningcontrol instruction being received, a warning behavior is performed bythe IP connected apparatus.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device function operationincludes a system login operation, and the step of performing the devicefunction operation corresponding to the control operation through thecommunication module includes the following steps. The system loginoperation is performed to log in one IP connected apparatus through thecommunication module. A proxy operation on a management system of the IPconnected apparatus is then performed.

In an embodiment of the invention, the network switch includes a storageunit, and the device management method further includes the followingsteps. The IP connected apparatus is allowed to access files in thestorage unit through the communication module.

The invention further provides a device management system, whichincludes IP connected apparatuses and network switches. The networkswitch is directly or indirectly coupled to the IP connected apparatus.Each of the IP connected apparatuses provides a graphical managementinterface. In response to a control operation on the graphicalmanagement interface, each of the network switches performs the devicefunction operation corresponding to the control operation. The controloperation is corresponding to the IP connected apparatus or anothernetwork switch.

The invention further provides an IP connected apparatus, which includesa communication module, a storage unit and a processing unit. Thecommunication module is configured to transmit and receive signals. Thestorage unit is configured to store a plurality of modules. Theprocessing unit is coupled to the communication module and the storageunit to access and execute the modules recorded in the storage unit. Themodules include a device management module and a management interfacemodule. The device management module performs a grouping operation on afirst IP connected apparatus and a second IP connected apparatus togroup the first IP connected apparatus and the second IP connectedapparatus into a first group through the communication module andconfiguring a coupling relation of the first group. The managementinterface module provides a graphical management interface, wherein thedevice management module performs the grouping operation correspondingto a control operation in response to the control operation on thegraphical management interface.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of configuring the couplingrelation of the first group comprising includes the following steps.Setting at least one http port corresponding to the first group.

In an embodiment of the invention, a port number of the at least onehttp port is set by an information input or is set by the devicemanagement module automatically.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of performing the groupingoperation on the first IP connected apparatus and the second IPconnected apparatus to group the first IP connected apparatus and thesecond IP connected apparatus into the first group through thecommunication module includes the following steps. Grouping a third IPconnected apparatus into the first group, wherein the third IP connectedapparatus is on a route between the first IP connected apparatus and thesecond IP connected apparatus.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device management module furtherconfigured to perform the following steps. Performing an informationcollecting operation on the first IP connected apparatus to obtainnetwork address information of the first IP connected apparatus, whereina communication protocol or a setting method of the first IP connectedapparatus is unknown to the IP connected apparatus. Executing a scriptprogram based on the network address information. Performing a devicefunction operation on the first IP connected apparatus based on thescript program.

In an embodiment of the invention, the management interface modulepresents related information corresponding to filtered result throughthe graphical management interface in response to the control operation,wherein the filtered result matches a selection corresponding to thecontrol operation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the graphical management interface isa graphical user interface (GUI).

The invention further provides a device management method, which isadapted to a IP connected apparatus having a communication module. TheIP connected apparatus is directly or indirectly coupled to a first IPconnected apparatus and a second IP connected apparatus. The devicemanagement method includes the following steps. Providing a graphicalmanagement interface. Performing, in response to a control operation onthe graphical management interface, a grouping operation on the first IPconnected apparatus and the second IP connected apparatus to group thefirst IP connected apparatus and the second IP connected apparatus intoa first group through the communication module. Configuring a couplingrelation of the first group.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device management method furtherincludes the following steps. Performing an information collectingoperation on the first IP connected apparatus to obtain network addressinformation of the first IP connected apparatus, wherein a communicationprotocol or a setting method of the first IP connected apparatus isunknown to the IP connected apparatus. Executing a script program basedon the network address information. Performing a device functionoperation on the first IP connected apparatus based on the scriptprogram.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device management method furtherincludes the following steps. Presenting related informationcorresponding to filtered result through the graphical managementinterface in response to the control operation, wherein the filteredresult matches a selection corresponding to the control operation.

In summary, the network switch, the device management system and thedevice management method thereof proposed according to the embodimentsof the invention provides the embedded graphical management interface,so that the network administrators can perform the operations moreconveniently. In addition, the network switch detects the configurationsetting or the control operation for the IP connected apparatuses on thegraphical management interface, so as to perform various device functionoperations for the selected IP connected apparatus or another networkswitch.

To make the above features and advantages of the present disclosure morecomprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings aredescribed in detail as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device management systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a network switch.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a device management method accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4A is an example of the topology mode.

FIG. 4B is an example of the floor mode.

FIG. 4C is an example of the map mode.

FIG. 5 is an example of a filtering program interface.

FIG. 6A is an example of the device function option.

FIG. 6B is another example of the device function option.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device management systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, adevice management system 100 includes one or more IP connectedapparatuses 110 and one or more IP connected apparatuses 150, whereinthe IP connected apparatuses 150 may be an electronic apparatus, such asa computer, a wireless router, a server, a cloud server, a smart phone,a display apparatus, a smart camera, a router, a network switch and thelike (hereinafter referred to as a network switches 150). It should benoted that, amounts of the IP connected apparatuses 110 and the networkswitches 150 are not limited by those illustrated in FIG. 1, but may bechanged by the persons applying the embodiments of the invention.

The IP connected apparatus 110 may be an electronic apparatus, such as acomputer, a wireless router, a server, a cloud server, a smart phone, adisplay apparatus, a smart camera, a router, a network switch and thelike, which is capable of performing data transmission with another IPconnected apparatus 110 and the network switch 150 or connecting to theInternet based on at least one network protocol (e.g., Internet Protocol(IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP),etc.).

Next, referring to FIG. 2 which is a block diagram illustrating elementsof the network switch 150, the network switch 150 at least includes acommunication module 151, a storage unit 153 and a processing unit 155.The communication module 151 at least supports IEEE 802.3/ab/u/x/zEthernet standard, and includes one or more connection ports 151_1 to151_N, where N is a positive integer. Each of the connection ports 151_1to 151_N can support interfaces including RJ45 or an optical fiber(e.g., Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP)) with transmission speed of 10or 100 Mbps and/or 1 or 10 Gbps. The IP connected apparatuses 110 can bedirectly or indirectly connected to the network switch 150 through theconnection ports 151_1 to 151_N, respectively. It should be noted that,the communication module 151 may also support IEEE 802.1Q/p/X/D/w/ABstandards which are adjustable based on different design requirements,and the embodiments of invention are not limited thereto. The indirectconnection indicates that equipments, such as other network switches 150or the routers, may be cascadely connected between the IP connectedapparatus 110 and the network switch 150.

The storage unit 153 may be a fixed or a movable device in any possiblefoil is including a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), a flash memory or other similar devices, or a combination of theabove-mentioned devices. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 153is configured to record software programs including a device managementmodule 153_1, a management interface module 153_3 and a file accessmodule 153_5, a script program configured to obtain related informationof an unknown IP connected apparatus 110 or set the unknown IP connectedapparatus 110, a web server program, related information of the IPconnected apparatus 110, and data files in various types. Detaileddescription of each of the modules 153_1, 153_3 and 153_5, the scriptprogram and the web server program will be described later in thefollowing embodiments.

The processing unit 155 is connected to the communication module 151 andthe storage unit 153, and may be a central processing unit (CPU) orother programmable microprocessors for general purpose or specialpurpose, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a programmable controller,Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other similar elementsor a combination of above-mentioned elements. In the present embodimentof the invention, the processing unit 155 is configured to perform alltasks of the network switch 150, and is capable of accessing andexecuting the modules recorded in the storage unit 153.

To facilitate in understanding more of operating procedures in theembodiments of the invention, various embodiments are provided below andserved to further describe a device management method of the devicemanagement system 100 in the embodiments of the invention. FIG. 3 is aflowchart illustrating a device management method according to anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the method of thepresent embodiment is adapted to the IP connected apparatuses 110 andthe network switch 150 in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, the method according tothe embodiments of the invention is described below by reference withvarious elements in the IP connected apparatuses 110 and the networkswitch 150. Each step in the device management method may be adjustedbased on actual conditions, and the invention is not limited thereto.

In step S310, the management interface module 1533 of the network switch150 provides a graphical management interface. Specifically, themanagement interface module 153_3 is, for example, a HyperText TransferProtocol (HTTP) server (or a web server) (e.g., Apache server, InternetInformation Server (IIS)) programs for providing a web page interface toother electronic apparatuses (e.g., a desktop computer, a notebookcomputer, etc.) or the IP connected apparatuses 110, which are connectedto the network switch 150 through the connection ports 151_1 to 151_N,RS-232 serial port or Universal Serial Bus (USB) transmission interfacesor via the Internet. The IP connected apparatuses 110 or the electronicapparatuses can execute a web browser (or related programs based on HTTPprotocol, Telnet or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol) and enter aspecific network address (e.g., an IP address, a port number, etc.) inorder to load in the graphical management interface.

A dimension or a layout configuration of the graphical managementinterface may also be dynamically changed according to a specificationor a dimension adjustment task (e.g., adjustment on the graphicalmanagement interface performed by a user and detected by managementinterface module 153_3) of a display unit of aforesaid IP connectedapparatus. For example, the graphical management interface may be inform of a cell phone interface, a tablet interface, a computer interfaceand so on.

It should be noted that, the management interface 153_3 may alsoactivate other graphical user interfaces (GUI) programs for the IPconnected apparatus 110 or the other electronic apparatuses to load inthe graphical user interface. Further, the management interface module153_3 of the present embodiment of the invention is embedded in thenetwork switch 150. In other words, the network switch 150 can directlyprovide the graphical management interface without additionallyinstalling programs. Accordingly, for the general public, the complexprogram installation step may be eliminated. On the other hand, themanagement interface module 153_3 also provide the CLI and the Web UI sothat the setting method can be more flexible for operating personnels.

In an embodiment, a device function operation provided by the devicemanagement module 153_1 includes an information collecting operation.The device management module 153_1 can perform the informationcollecting operation on the IP connected apparatus 110 through thecommunication module 151 to obtain the related information of the IPconnected apparatus 110. The management interface module 153_3 canpresent the related information of the IP connected apparatus 110through the graphical management interface.

Specifically, based on communication protocols corresponding to the IPconnected apparatus 110 (e.g., Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), UPnP,Link Layer discovery protocol (LLDP), Open Network Video Interface Forum(ONVIF), Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS), Simple NetworkManagement Protocol (SNMP), etc.), the device management module 153_1can communicate with the IP connected apparatuses 110 or the othernetwork switches 150 through the communication module 151 via thecorresponding connection ports 151_1 to 151_N, and scan the IP connectedapparatuses 110 or the other network switches 150 on all the linksrelated to the network switch 150, so as to obtain the relatedinformation of said apparatuses including device information (e.g., adevice name, a model number, a code number, a device type, Power overEthernet (PoE) information, etc.), coupling information (e.g., the portnumber, etc.), a network configuration (e.g., Virtual Local Area Network(VLAN), the IP address or a Media Access Control (MAC) address, etc.).

It should be noted that, the device management module 153_1 may performthe information collecting operation periodically (e.g., per minute, perhour, etc.) or according to a specific event (e.g., when the IPconnected apparatus 110 on the link is abnormal, etc.). Further,according to different design requirements, persons applying theembodiments of the invention can change a type of the communicationprotocol being used or the related information of the IP connectedapparatus 110 to be obtained.

In an embodiment, the graphical management interface provides one of atopology mode, a floor mode and a map mode or a combination thereof. Inresponse to a control operation (e.g., any operation on the userinterface such as click, select, drag, double-click, information input,etc.) on the graphical management interface, the management interfacemodule 153_3 presents the related information of the IP connectedapparatus 110 through one of said modes. Mode options from, for example,one of the topology mode, the floor mode and the map mode or thecombination thereof are provided on the graphical management interface.The management interface module 153_3 can detect the correspondingcontrol operation on the mode options, so as to present the selectedmode on the graphical management interface.

For instance, FIG. 4A is an example of the topology mode. Referring toFIG. 4A, since the topology mode is selected in response to the controloperation, a topological diagram with the network switch 150 as a masterterminal may be established by the management interface module 153_3based on the related information of the IP connected apparatuses 110obtained by using the information collecting operation, and presented asa topological diagram page 410. The network switch 150 may be presentedby an icon 411, and the IP connected apparatuses 110 may be presented byicons 413_1 to 413_8, respectively. Patterns of the icon 411 and theicons 413_1 to 413_8 may be determined according to the deviceinformation. The management interface module 153_3 can detect thecontrol operation (e.g., a click operation) on the icon 411 and theicons 413_1 to 413_8, so as to further provide a device function optioncorresponding to the selected icon. Related information 415 (e.g., thedevice name, the model number, the IP address, the connection port, thegroup number, etc.) of the network switch 150 and the IP connectedapparatuses 110 may also be presented on the topological diagram page410. Further, in response to the control operation (e.g., a checkoperation) of an information disclosure option 417, the managementinterface module 153_3 can present the desired information in therelated information 415 of the network switch 150 and the IP connectedapparatuses 110 based on the selection on the information disclosureoption 417. Accordingly, a coupling relation and a deploying relation ofall the IP connected apparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 may beclearly learned from the topological diagram to facilitate the networkadministrators to further set and control the IP connected apparatuses110 and the network switch 150.

In an embodiment, the management interface module 153_3 can detect thecontrol operation (e.g., a click or select operation) on the icon 411and the icons 413_1 to 413_8, so as to further provide a device functionoption, such as a grouping operation on the one or more selected icons.The management interface module 153_3 can group the IP connectedapparatuses corresponding to the selected icons into a group through thecommunication module 151 and configure a coupling relation of the saidgroup based on the grouping operation. For example, the managementinterface module 153_3 can set at least one http port corresponding tothe said group. Specifically, the management interface module 153_3 canset a same number for the at least one http port corresponding to the IPconnected apparatuses within the same group, so that the networkadministrators do not need to set the http port for the IP connectedapparatuses one by one. The port number of the http port can be set byan information input entered by a network administrator or can be set bythe device management module 153_1 automatically.

In an embodiment, when the management interface module 1533 detects thecontrol operation on icon 411 and icon 413_6 and performs the groupingoperation on the network switch 150 presented by the icon 411 and the IPconnected apparatus 110 presented by the icon 413_6, the managementinterface module 153_3 can group the network switch 150 presented by theicon 411, the IP connected apparatus 110 presented by the icon 413_6,and the IP connected apparatus 110 presented by the icon 413_1 into thesame group, wherein the icon 413_1 presented the IP connected apparatus110 on the route between the network switch 150 presented by the icon411 and the IP connected apparatus 110 presented by the icon 413_6. Inthis way, the management interface module 153_3 can perform a devicefunction operation (i.e., coupling relation configuration such as httpport setting and the like) on the plurality of IP connected apparatuseson the whole route by just selecting the icons presented the endpoint IPconnected apparatuses on the said route.

FIG. 4B is an example of the floor mode. Referring to FIG. 4B, since thefloor mode is selected in response to the control operation, a floorpage 430 may be established by the management interface module 153_3based on the related information of the IP connected apparatuses 110obtained by using the information collecting operation. The managementinterface module 153_3 can first provide a floor plan 431, and receivethe control operation of the user on the floor page 430 (e.g., settinglocations of the network switch 150 and the IP connected apparatuses 110on the floor plan 431). Next, icons 433 and 435_1 to 435_8 respectivelycorresponding to the network switch 150 and the IP connected apparatuses110 may be presented on the floor page 430. Accordingly, the networkadministrators can instantly find the floors or the places where theapparatuses are located.

Further, FIG. 4C is an example of the map mode. Referring to FIG. 4C,since the map mode is selected in response to the control operation, amap page 450 may be established by the management interface module 153_3based on the related information of the IP connected apparatuses 110obtained by using the information collecting operation. The relatedinformation includes location information of the IP connectedapparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 (e.g., a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) location, latitude and longitude, etc.), which may beobtained by receiving the locations inputted by an input operation ofthe user. Alternatively, the management interface module 153_3 canreceive a setting operation for the locations of the IP connectedapparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 performed by the user on themap page 450. The management interface module 153_3 loads an electronicmap 451 through an electronic map engine (e.g., Google map, Bing map,Here map, etc.) so that icons 453_1 to 453_4 corresponding to the IPconnected apparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 may be presented onthe electronic map 451. Accordingly, the network administrators caninstantly find the actual locations of the IP connected apparatuses 110.

In view of the above, the management interface module 153_3 can providethe intuitive operation interfaces by presentation methods in differentmodes to the network administrators to facilitate management of a largeamount of IP connected apparatuses 110 in various type. Further, each ofthe topological diagram page 410, the floor page 430 and the map page450 may be captured as screen shots (e.g., stored as image files inJPGE, SVG, etc.) to facilitate subsequent application for the networkadministrators. It should be noted that, graphics, texts and locationson the topological diagram page 410, the floor page 430 and the map page450 are only served as examples, and may be changed by persons applyingthe embodiments of the invention based on different design requirements.

In addition, the management interface module 153_3 also provides asearch function through the graphical management interface. Themanagement interface module 153_3 can receive an input operation ofspecific texts including the device name, the IP address and a floornumber, so as to filter the related information of the IP connectedapparatuses 110 and present a filtered result on the graphicalmanagement interface.

For instance, FIG. 5 is an example of a filtering program interface.Referring to FIG. 5, the management interface module 153_3 can receiveselections made on a floor option 510 (for the floor page 430 shown inFIG. 4B) and a device option 530 in a filtering program interface 500,so as to present the filtered result matching the selections in a devicepresentation area 550. The related information of the IP connectedapparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 may be presented in thedevice presentation area 550. Next, the management interface module153_3 can receive an input operation of a filtering condition 540 in thefiltering program interface 500 so as to further present the filteredresult in the device presentation area 550 of the graphical managementinterface. For example, when “IP Camera” is inputted in the filteringcondition 540, only device information 511 and 553 corresponding to theInternet camera are presented in the device presentation area 550.

In addition to the related information of the IP connected apparatuses110, the device management module 153_1 can further perform a trafficcontrol for each of the IP connected apparatuses 110. The devicemanagement module 153_1 records a network speed and a traffic of unlinkand downlink for each of the connection ports 151_1 to 151_N and the IPconnected apparatuses 110 by different monitoring time intervals (inweeks, hours, minutes, etc.). The management interface module 153_3 candisplay the traffics of the different IP connected apparatuses 110within a specific time interval (e.g., in one day, one week, etc.) by abar chart, so that the network administrators can quickly be informed ofwhere the problem is and accordingly prevent the occurrences of violencedownload and the like. Further, the device management module 153_1 canalso detect connection states of all the links between the networkswitch 150 and each of the IP connected apparatuses 110 or related tothe IP connected apparatuses 110 in real time, and the managementinterface module 153_3 can quickly present the connection states on thegraphical management interface (e.g., present abnormal links by usingspecific icons, line sections, text, images, etc.), so that the networkadministrators can quickly find the problems.

In aforesaid information collecting operation, since the devicemanagement module 153_1 already knows the communication protocols or thesetting methods corresponding to the IP connected apparatuses 110, thedesire related information may be obtained accordingly. In other words,with regard to the unknown IP connected apparatus 110 or another unknownnetwork switch, it is possible that the device management module 153_1does not know which of the communication protocols or the settingmethods must be adopted in order to obtain the related information ofthe unknown IP connected apparatus 110. The information collectingoperation for the unknown IP connected apparatus 110 is furtherdescribed as follows.

In an embodiment, the related information of the IP connected apparatus110 includes a network address information (e.g., the MAC address, theIP address, etc.). The device management module 153_1 executes a scriptprogram based on the network address information, and performs theinformation collecting operation through the script program.Specifically, the device management module 153_1 can send, for example,an ARP request through the communication module 151, so as to learn theMAC address of the unknown IP connected apparatus 110 and search thecorresponding script in the storage unit 153 based on the MAC address.For example, the device management module 153_1 can learn a device brandname based on the MAC address (e.g., first three codes of the MACaddress represent the device brand name), and search the script programcorresponding to the device brand name. The script program can obtainspecific files, data or information from the unknown IP connectedapparatus 110, so that the device management module 153_1 can furtheranalyze the specific files, data or information in order to obtain therelated information of the unknown IP connected apparatus 110.Accordingly, the unknown IP connected apparatus 110 or the anotherunknown network switch may be included in the topological diagram of thenetwork switch 150.

Next, in step S330, in response to a control operation corresponding tothe IP connected apparatus 110 on the graphical management interface,the device management module 153_1 performs the device functionoperation corresponding to the control operation through thecommunication module 151. In other words, during actual operation, theuser can directly perform the control operation on the icons or thetexts corresponding to the IP connected apparatuses 110 on the graphicalmanagement interface, so as to perform the device function operation. Inthe present embodiment, the device management module 153_1 generates acontrol signal corresponding to the control operation based on thenetwork protocol, and transmits the control signal through thecorresponding connection port 151_1 to 151_N in the communication module151 to perform the device function operation.

Specifically, the device management module 153_1 can provide multipledevice management operations for the different IP connected apparatuses110. Because the device management module 153_1 performs the devicefunction operation on the IP connected apparatus 110 through thecommunication module 151, the device management module 153_1 mustcommunicate with the IP connected apparatus 110 through the devicefunction operation and the network protocol supported by the IPconnected apparatus 110 or a specific setting method, and generate thecorresponding control signal accordingly. The IP connected apparatus 110may then accept the device function operation of the network switch 150in response to the control signal.

In an embodiment, the device function operation includes a configurationsetting operation. The device management module 153_1 performs theconfiguration setting operation on the IP connected apparatus 110through the communication module 151, so as to set the IP connectedapparatus 110 corresponding to the control operation. The configurationsetting operation may be used in any type of network configuration, suchas VLAN, IP, Secure Shell (SSH), Remote Authentication Dial In UserService (RADIUS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), SimpleNetwork Time Protocol (SNTP), but the embodiments of the invention isnot limited to the above. For the unknown IP connected apparatus 110,the device management module 153_1 can also perform the configurationsetting operation through aforesaid script program by a specificnegotiation program.

The management interface module 153_3 detects the control operation forthe IP connected apparatuses 110 and the network switch 150 on thegraphical management interface. For example, click operations on theicons 411, 413_1 to 413_8 in FIG. 4A may be detected. The managementinterface module 153_3 can provide the corresponding device functionoption for the selected IP connected apparatuses 110 and the networkswitch 150. In other words, different device function options may beprovided for different types of the IP connected apparatuses 110.

For instance, FIG. 6A is an example of the device function option.Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 6A together, in response to the clickoperation on the icon 413_2 in FIG. 4A, the management interface module153_3 presents a device function page 610 corresponding to the IPcamera. The device function page 610 can present related information 611of the IP camera including “Device type”, “Device name”, “Model number”,“MAC Address”, “IP Address”, “http port” and “PoE Information”, and canalso present device function options 613 including “Login”,“Diagnostics”, “Streaming”, “Reboot”, “Dashboard” and “Notification”.

FIG. 6B is another example of the device function option. Referring toFIG. 4A and FIG. 6B together, in response to the click operation on theicon 413_1 in FIG. 4A, the management interface module 153_3 presents adevice function page 630 corresponding to another network switch 150.The device function page 630 can present related information 631 of theanother network switch 150 including “Device type”, “Device name”,“Model number”, “MAC Address”, “IP Address” and “PoE Information”, andcan also present device function options 633 including “Login”, “FindDevice”, “Diagnostics”, “Dashboard” and “Notification”. Thecorresponding device function operations in the device function options613 and 633 are described in more detail with reference to variousembodiments below.

In an embodiment, the device function operation includes a nodesearching operation. The device management module 153_1 generates thecontrol signal including a warning control instruction based on the IPconnected apparatus 110 corresponding to control operation. The warningcontrol instruction is configured to control the IP connected apparatus110 or another network switch 150 to perform a warning behavior (e.g.,flashing light, making sounds, etc.). For instance, in response to theclick operation on “Find Device” in the device function options 633 inFIG. 6B, the device management module 153_1 generates the warningcontrol instruction configured to control a lighting module (e.g.,having at least one Light Emitting Diode (LED)) on the IP connectedapparatus 110, and transmits the control signal including the warningcontrol instruction to the IP connected apparatus 110. When the IPconnected apparatus 110 receives the warning control instruction, thelighting module thereof can start flashing light according to thewarning control instruction. In addition, the device management module153_1 may also perform identical or similar node searching operation onanother network switch 150, so that said another network switch 150 canperform the warning behavior.

It should be noted that, the IP connected apparatus 110 or the anothernetwork switch 150 may also include one of a display module (e.g.,Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Organic Electro-Luminescent Display(OELD), etc.), a vibration module (e.g., a module that includes avibration motor) or a speaker module (e.g., mono or stereo speakers), ora combination thereof, and the corresponding warning behavior mayinclude: displaying texts, images or graphics to explain warningarrangements, generating vibrations in fixed frequency or variablefrequency or making a prompt sound. Based on different designrequirements, persons applying the embodiments of the invention maydesign any type of the warning module and the warning behavior for theIP connected apparatuses 110. Accordingly, for environments where alarge amount of the IP connected apparatuses 110 and the network switch150 is deployed, the user can quickly find the IP connected apparatus110 by observing the warning behavior.

In another embodiment, the device function operation includes a systemlogin operation. The device management module 153_1 performs the systemlogin operation to log in the IP connected apparatus 110 through thecommunication module 151 and performs a proxy operation on a managementsystem of the IP connected apparatus 110. For instance, in response tothe click operation on “Login” in the device function option 633 in FIG.6B, the device management module 153_1 generates the control signalincluding login information (e.g., account, password, etc.) and otherlogin-related setting information of such IP connected apparatus 110,and transmits the control signal to such IP connected apparatus 110.

After the IP connected apparatus 110 is logged in, if the IP connectedapparatus 110 is another network switch 150, the management interfacemodule 153_3 loads a graphical management interface of said anothernetwork switch 150 and establishes a topological diagram with saidanother network switch 150 as the master terminal, so as to achieve thepurpose of proxy operation. Further, aforesaid operations includingdifferent presentation modes, the node searching operation, theinformation collecting operation and the system login operation may alsobe controlled by using the graphical management interface of the anothernetwork switch 150 in a manner of using the another network switch 150as the master terminal. If the IP connected apparatus 110 is not theanother network switch 150, the management interface module 153_3 loadsa management system owned by such IP connected apparatus 110. In otherwords, the user may directly operate the management system of theanother IP connected apparatus 110 on the network switch 150 withoutconnecting a connection line to said another IP connected apparatus 110.

In an application scenario where failures occurred on some networkswitches 150 with embedded management interface module 153_3, the systemlogin operation can be performed on the functioning network switches150, so as to obtain the topological diagram corresponding to thefunctioning network switches 150 and perform management tasks on theselogged-in network switches 150.

In yet another embodiment, the device function operation includes atroubleshooting operation. For instance, in response to the clickoperation on “diagnostics” in the device function option 613 in FIG. 6A,the device management module 153_1 monitors state (e.g., informationregarding whether connection is interrupted, or the traffic isexcessively large) of all the links corresponding to the IP connectedapparatus 110 (communication paths for directly or indirectly connectingto the IP connected apparatus 110) through the communication module 151,and the management interface module 153_3 presents the links, all the IPconnected apparatuses 110 on the links, and corresponding link statesthrough the graphical management interface. For example, the graphicalmanagement interface can present a specific text, color or pattern forindicating an abnormal state.

In yet another embodiment, the device function operation includes amultimedia streaming operation. For instance, in response to the clickoperation on “Streaming” in the device function option 613 in FIG. 6A,the device management module 153_1 transmits the control signalincluding multimedia streaming-related information corresponding to theIP connected apparatus 110 (e.g., the IP camera) through thecommunication module 151. Next, the management interface module 153_3can then present a current capturing image of the IP camera on thegraphical management interface. In other examples, multimedia streamswith only the sound or a combination of video and sound may both beplayed on the graphical management interface through the multimediastreaming operation according to the embodiments of the invention.

In another embodiment, the device function operation includes a powermanagement operation. For instance, in response to the click operationon “Reboot” in the device function option 613 in FIG. 6A, the devicemanagement module 153_1 transmits the control signal including a PoEprotocol corresponding to the IP connected apparatus 110 through thecommunication module 151. Next, the IP connected apparatus 110 rebootsin response to said control signal. Furthermore, other power managementsincluding shut down, sleep, wakeup may all be implemented in theembodiments of the invention. On the other hand, the device managementmodule 153_1 may further obtain PoE related information (e.g., powersupply, power consumption, etc.) of the IP connected apparatus 110through the communication module 151.

It should be noted that, “Dashboard” and “Notification” in the devicefunction option can provide a performance (e.g., speed, traffic, etc.)monitoring chart and a specific event (e.g., shut down, over-largetraffic, abnormal connection, abnormal power supply, network attack,etc.) notification respectively. In addition, based on different designrequirements, persons applying the embodiments of the invention maychange the device function operation and content of the control signal.

On the other hand, in an embodiment, the file access module 153_5 canallow the IP connected apparatus 110 to access files in the storage unit153 through the communication module 151. Specifically, in addition toallowing the IP connected apparatus 110 to access the existing files inthe storage unit 153, the file access module 153_5 can also store thefiles into the storage unit 153 of the network switch 150 through a fileaccess behavior on the graphical management interface. For example, thescreen shot file of the topological diagram 410 in FIG. 4A may be storedin the storage unit 153. In other words, the network switch 150 servedas the master terminal can share the files in the storage unit 153 tothe IP connected apparatuses 110 or other network switches. When anothernetwork switch 150 changes from a slave terminal to the master terminal(e.g., the management system thereof is logged in), the files in thestorage unit 153 of the another network switch 150 may also be shared tothe IP connected apparatuses 110 and the network switch 150.

In summary, the network switch, the device management system and thedevice management method thereof according to the embodiments of theinvention are capable of providing the intuitive operation throughvisual interfaces by the network management system (NMS) and the devicemanagement system (DMS) including the graphical management interfaceembedded in the network switch, so that the network administrators canperform the management more conveniently. The graphical managementinterface also provides the topology mode, the floor mode and the mapmode, so as to reduce the difficulty in deploying and planning the largeamount of the IP connected apparatuses. Further, the correspondingdevice management option may be provided for different IP connectedapparatuses. In addition to the network configuration, various devicemanagement operations (e.g., “Find Device”, “Login”, “Troubleshooting”,etc.) may all be controlled on the graphical management interface foreach of the IP connected apparatuses. On the other hand, resources inthe network switch may also be shared according to embodiments of theinvention. As a result, with effectiveness including fast detection,simple operation and massive management provided according to theembodiments of the invention, the innovative and convenient devicemanagement may be provided for the network administrators.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to theabove embodiments, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that modifications to the described embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope ofthe disclosure will be defined by the attached claims and not by theabove detailed descriptions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An IP connected apparatus, comprising: acommunication module, transmitting and receiving signals; a storageunit, storing a plurality of modules; and a processing unit, coupled tothe communication module and the storage unit, accessing and executingthe modules stored in the storage unit, and the modules comprising: adevice management module, performing a grouping operation on a first IPconnected apparatus and a second IP connected apparatus to group thefirst IP connected apparatus and the second IP connected apparatus intoa first group through the communication module and configuring acoupling relation of the first group; and a management interface module,providing a graphical management interface, wherein the devicemanagement module performs the grouping operation corresponding to acontrol operation in response to the control operation on the graphicalmanagement interface.
 2. The IP connected apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe step of configuring the coupling relation of the first groupcomprising: setting at least one http port corresponding to the firstgroup.
 3. The IP connected apparatus of claim 2, wherein a port numberof the at least one http port is set by an information input or is setby the device management module automatically.
 4. The IP connectedapparatus of claim 1, wherein the step of performing the groupingoperation on the first IP connected apparatus and the second IPconnected apparatus to group the first IP connected apparatus and thesecond IP connected apparatus into the first group through thecommunication module comprising: grouping a third IP connected apparatusinto the first group, wherein the third IP connected apparatus is on aroute between the first IP connected apparatus and the second IPconnected apparatus.
 5. The IP connected apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe device management module further configured to: perform aninformation collecting operation on the first IP connected apparatus toobtain network address information of the first IP connected apparatus,wherein a communication protocol or a setting method of the first IPconnected apparatus is unknown to the IP connected apparatus; execute ascript program based on the network address information; and perform adevice function operation on the first IP connected apparatus based onthe script program.
 6. The IP connected apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe management interface module presents related informationcorresponding to filtered result through the graphical managementinterface in response to the control operation, wherein the filteredresult matches a selection corresponding to the control operation. 7.The IP connected apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device managementmodule further configured to: generate a warning control instruction tocontrol the first IP connected apparatus to perform a warning behavior.8. The IP connected apparatus of claim 1, wherein the graphicalmanagement interface is a graphical user interface (GUI).
 9. A devicemanagement method, adapted to an IP connected apparatus having acommunication module, wherein the IP connected apparatus is directly orindirectly coupled to a first IP connected apparatus and a second IPconnected apparatus, and the device management method comprising:providing a graphical management interface; performing, in response to acontrol operation on the graphical management interface, a groupingoperation on the first IP connected apparatus and the second IPconnected apparatus to group the first IP connected apparatus and thesecond IP connected apparatus into a first group through thecommunication module; and configuring a coupling relation of the firstgroup.
 10. The device management method of claim 9, wherein the step ofconfiguring the coupling relation of the first group comprising: settingat least one http port corresponding to the first group.
 11. The devicemanagement method of claim 10, wherein a port number of the at least onehttp port is set by an information input or is set by the devicemanagement module automatically.
 12. The device management method ofclaim 9, wherein the step of performing, in response to the controloperation on the graphical management interface, the grouping operationon the first IP connected apparatus and the second IP connectedapparatus to group the first IP connected apparatus and the second IPconnected apparatus into the first group through the communicationmodule comprising: grouping a third IP connected apparatus into thefirst group, wherein the third IP connected apparatus is on a routebetween the first IP connected apparatus and the second IP connectedapparatus.
 13. The device management method of claim 9, wherein thedevice management method further comprising: performing an informationcollecting operation on the first IP connected apparatus to obtainnetwork address information of the first IP connected apparatus, whereina communication protocol or a setting method of the first IP connectedapparatus is unknown to the IP connected apparatus; executing a scriptprogram based on the network address information; and performing adevice function operation on the first IP connected apparatus based onthe script program.
 14. The device management method of claim 9, whereinthe device management method further comprising: presenting relatedinformation corresponding to filtered result through the graphicalmanagement interface in response to the control operation, wherein thefiltered result matches a selection corresponding to the controloperation.
 15. The device management method of claim 9, wherein thedevice management method further comprising: generating a warningcontrol instruction to control the first IP connected apparatus toperform a warning behavior.
 16. The device management method of claim 9,wherein the graphical management interface is a graphical user interface(GUI).